


Last Game at Old Trafford

by orphan_account



Category: Football RPF
Genre: Dave dont leave, M/M, Manchester United, Old Trafford, real madrid - Freeform, transfer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-18
Updated: 2015-05-18
Packaged: 2018-03-31 03:39:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3962998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the final home game at Old Trafford, David is still conflicted about whether he should stay or leave, and Juan is doing his best to keep him from leaving</p>
            </blockquote>





	Last Game at Old Trafford

Full time, Manchester United 1, Arsenal 1. David hobbles off the bench, ready to congratulate his teammates for a decent performance, although the last goal let in was rather sloppy. It wasn’t really Victor’s fault, but David felt terrible that his first start for United had to come with such an unfortunate mistake, after all Victor had always worked very hard during training and would be disappointed with himself. He stood at Old Trafford and took in the atmosphere, revelling in the fan’s singing and cheering even after the disappointing draw. Did he really want to miss all this? He’d become a hero in this past season and the fans were amazing when he had been subbed off after the injury. Hell, they’d even cheered for Falcao, who’s diligence rarely translated into any performances and was set to be shipped back at the end of the season. But what about him? Was this his last game at Old Trafford? If so, it certainly wasn’t a bad one, but…

“David!” a high pitched Spanish cry snapped David out of his thoughts. “Are you okay? How’s your hip?” Juan asked as he embraced David, wrapping his arms around him. Juan’s hugs could make anyone feel better. “I’m fine! You played pretty well too, no?” He smiled as he extended his long arms around Juan’s short shoulders. “Ander scored such a good goal, let me go congratulate him.” Juan lifts his hands off David and smiles at him. "We should get ready for the lap of honour, come on!” As Boss started giving his speech, David couldn’t help but tear up at the support from the fans. None of them wanted him to leave, but…

“David! You okay?” Ander smiled as he punched David lightly in the shoulder. “Don’t worry about me, Ander. You played amazing today! What a great goal! You’re making an impact in every game you’ve played in,” David grinned. “Don’t be so humble, David, you’ve had a great game too. Hope your hip’s okay,” Ander paused. “We should have won just now, I’m annoyed but we can only do better and achieve more things soon ya? Also, wanna come grab some potato tortilla after this? I’m craving it all of a sudden.”

Youngy gave David a good pat on the back as he approached. “David, bro! How are you feeling? Hey, do you want to hear a joke? What do you call a fake noodle? An Impasta!!!” Youngy couldn’t stop laughing as David let out a smirk. “That is terrible, Ashley, and I think Juan’s told me this joke before. You played well today though, and yes, I’m fine.”  
“Didn’t dive today eh Youngy,” Smalling yelled from behind. “How’s about your hot tub, Chris!” Youngy shouted back.

Wazza descended from the stands to the pitch, holding Kai by the hand and Klay in his arms. “Good job, David. Hope you’ll get well soon, you made a fine save today,” “Good job uncle David!” Kai squealed, as David bent down to give him a pat on the head. Kids were so cute... did he want children too? David couldn’t help but smile as he watched his teammates be in such a good mood, smiles and all. They’d really progressed since last season when everyone felt like crap half the time and chips weren’t allowed before matches. LVG had really brought in a sense of bonding within the new team, and even though he sorely missed those like Shinji and Darren, there was Ander, Marcos, Angel, Victor, Daley and Falcao who had been wonderful additions and helped the team to gel a lot better. He could really see the team rebuilding before his eyes, from the highs in Sir Alex ’s time to the void that needed filling after his departure to the slow but steady road to improvement. Was he really going to leave all this, for a chance at…

“Thank you. Bye!” Boss finished off his speech while everyone gave a lap of honour to the cheering supporters and die-hard fans. They all gathered round for a group shot, as David felt like he was truly being part of the family once again. He got a little emotional thinking about it, as Juan and Ander put their arms around him. He left the tunnel with mixed feelings.

“Hey David, can I talk to you on the way back?” Juan mumbled as they walked out. “Yeah, of course. Do you feel like going to Ander’s for potato tortilla?” David asked. “Maybe later for dinner. I’ll text him, ok? I need to talk to you first.”

They got into the car and drove away from Old Trafford, with David staring longingly at the United Trinity as they pulled away. The car was unusually silent and Juan strangely hadn’t yet begun his usual chatter about the latest Hipster thing like ’The Northern Quarter’ or how he liked art museums very much.

“David, do you love Manchester United?”

David was a little taken aback by the question. He felt apprehensive and angered that Juan would even need to ask this about his passion for the club. “Of course, I try my best for every game, I love the fans, I love my teammates,…”

“I mean do you love it, like really love it.”

“Coming from an ex-Chelsea man, I don’t get why you’re asking me this.”

“That’s different, okay? I mean United is my home, and I treasure it with all my heart, but I love the people at Chelsea, I love the fans, I just don’t know about… I’ve talked to you about this before. Wait this isn’t about me, it’s about you. I’ll just get straight to the point. Why are you taking so long to think about the deal with Real? And more importantly, why won’t you talk to any of us about it?”

David sighed heavily, but before he could continue, Juan started talking again.

“I completely understand it’s Spain again and you’ll feel more at home and the pay is higher, but seriously, can’t you just make a decision? I’m sorry for going into this, but some of the games against Everton, for example, you seemed like you weren’t at your best. Is Real really weighing this heavily on your mind? All of us think about it all the time too, you know. Every time you don’t make an amazing save like at the start of the season we get really worried.”

“Do you really think it’s all about money! Gosh Juan, I can’t believe you’re so insensitive!” David loses his temper after all the pent up feelings after the game. "Are you sure everyone’s worried or it’s just you? And you can’t just say that about my performance! I’m giving my all every---” David was interrupted by Juan pulling the car over by a secluded park. 

“We’re stopping here: it’s a nice, quiet place to think. It’s another thing I like about Manchester compared to London, it’s so much more peaceful and quiet.” “But I—“ Juan gets out of the car and hauls David out. Wordlessly, they walked towards a small stone bench overlooking a tiny pond. “This is the first place you brought me the day after I came from London, remember? You wanted to watch a small rock band at the bar but I was really tired so you came to sit with me instead. You brought me some of your terrible packet croquettes that you heated in the microwave but I thought they tasted really good. You talked to me about Manchester and all your problems about not living up to expectations you didn’t get to say in 2012. You reminded me of the time you stole that stupid donut.” Juan flashed a weak smile as he turned his face away. David was blushing, grinning sheepishly as he reminisced the first day Juan arrived. He put his hand on Juan’s shoulder.

“David, I’m going to cry if you leave.”

“I’m sorry I haven’t been myself lately. I’m sorry I haven’t been telling you, or the others, anything. I’m sorry my brain is so messed up right now and I can’t think straight or come to a decision. I just…”

“Just what?”

“You know, my home’s always been in Madrid, and…”

“It’s been in Athletico, not Real.”

“I’m sorry, I miss Spain, okay? I miss my family. I’m missing out on Edurne the longer I stay here. And the moment opportunity comes to be Iker’s successor, I don’t know how I’m going to turn that down.”

Juan turned his face away from David and bit his lip. “What about us? Aren’t we your family?"

“You don’t know how difficult a decision it is to make, I love the fans, I love the atmosphere, I love the badge of playing for United...” David mumbled 

“When I left Chelsea, I had no other choice. I didn’t play and couldn’t get on the field no matter how hard I tried, and yet it was a tough decision. You’re nowhere near that level of desperation. I don’t get why you don’t want to stay here longer. You’re the only one who’s making you go. I’m angry because United isn’t some small club that sells its biggest players to big money clubs like Real, we should have huge names coming to us. Why would you offer to play for such fickle fans? Did you even see Gareth Bale last week?” Tears were flowing down Juan’s cheeks.

David tries to calm Juan down and calm himself down. “I’m still thinking, okay, but I really don’t know about my future, I mean my whole family wants me to be back and stuff, but when I look at how far we’ve come, when I look back on our history, I can’t bear to leave. I love everyone here too much. I love Boss, the team, I love y..”

“What?” Juan looked up

An awkward silence passed between them for a second as Juan swallowed his throat.

“David I can’t take this anymore.” He leaned forward to press his face against his and kissed him. David was so stunned that he couldn’t react or process any thoughts as Juan pulled away.

“This is so selfish but I can’t let you go. I love you.”

“Maybe leaving really is the right thing for you, but I don’t know how I’ll feel if you’re not here to eat my spanish cooking, if you’re not here for me to drive back home from training, if you’re not here to let me drag you to art museums and hipster cafes. I’m so jealous of your girlfriend you don’t even know.”

David didn’t know what to say. He tried to form words with his mouth but they kept slipping out, even faster than John Terry’s penalty. He could still feel the kiss lingering on his lips, paralysing them of stringing together sentences.

“I… I’ve always felt special when you cooked me meals and brought me little gifts from home and when we exchanged, uh, photo collages and fruit baskets or even when you wait for me to finish goalkeeper training when Victor and I take a little longer than usual. I just always thought you liked Ander or even Torres or something. And you know I have a girlfriend. But I love you too. And you’re not making this decision any easier.” David got up and ruffled Juan’s hair and kissed his head. 

“There’s one more game against Hull, I’ll decide before then. But before that, know that I’m thinking about us the whole way. And you’ll be the first to know.” As David walked out of the park, he felt a breeze brush past his face which was already damp. Home wasn’t much further away, but he needed time to think and walk by himself.

Juan stared into the pond’s reflection, dumbfounded. So does he love me? There was no point chasing after him now, he knew both of them needed time alone to themselves once in a while.

“I guess that means no potato tortilla tonight,” Juan muttered to himself as he stared into the lake, his world collapsing around him and his heart shattering. He could feel the emptiness of David’s shadow looming beside him.

-

David looks at the contract lying on his table with the empty blank for his signature. He’s been staring at it for the past hour. He picks up his phone and calls his agent. “I think I’ve made a decision,” he says quietly, his hands trembling as he grips the phone.

**Author's Note:**

> I really hope this doesn't happen in real life :(((
> 
> EDIT: Thank you guys for the comments! I'm relatively new to ao3 so I'm not really sure how this works haha  
> The past few days and the media have got me feeling really upset about Dave potentially leaving and since my tests are over I decided to write something about it. Hope you like it!  
> Also finding this tweet made me very sad <https://twitter.com/ManUtd/status/491331292324446208>


End file.
